Primary teachers have overwhelmingly agreed to accept a new collective employment agreement negotiated by their union, the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), in a postal ballot.
The new agreement -- which covers 25,000 teachers working in primary and intermediate schools, and is worth $420 million over the three-year term -- guaranteesteachers an 8.74 per cent pay rise over three years and classroom release time for the first time.
It also includes a $500 payment for teachers covered by the collective when it was settled.
Over 90 per cent of union members agreed to ratify the agreement , which took 25 days to hammer out between NZEI and the Education Ministry. Settlement was reached on September 17.
It includes the provision of up to 800 extra teachers to deliver all fulltime primary teachers a guaranteed 10 hours of classroom release time a term, starting in term four next year, NZEI President Colin Tarr said in a statement today.
"This will enable teachers to have time during the school day to step out of the classroom and do the lesson planning, student assessment and administrative work that they currently have to do after school or during the weekend."
The new agreement also addresses other major issues involving primary teachers' qualifications, career paths for teachers and the need to support new teachers.
